THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603100173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Since sputtering to a 6-7 pre-ACC start, Georgia Tech has won 16 of its 19 games, playing well enough to win the league's regular-season title, and well enough to reach today's ACC tournament championship game against Wake Forest.
But when the Yellow Jackets play well enough to please senior guard Drew Barry, they'll really have accomplished something.
``We're not playing good right now,'' Barry said Saturday, after Georgia Tech beat Maryland 84-79 in the tournament semifinals. ``We're just finding ways to win.''
Barry's a tough critic, but he's entitled. As much as anyone, he typifies a Yellow Jacket team that's proven the old basketball adage that good passing is contagious.
``They've got five starters, but four of them are guards,'' Maryland guard Johnny Rhodes said.
Just seems that way. The Yellow Jackets, as they've done since January, swung the ball with precision Saturday, and more often than not got a good shot.
``It's not just having the ability to pass,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``It's being willing to give up a pretty good shot for a great shot. They do that as well as anybody.
``There's not one guy out there that worries about (whether) he shot the last time down the court. You don't find that in that many players, or in that many players on one team.''
Georgia Tech (22-10) hit 50 percent of its shots Saturday. And although Maryland cut an 18-point first-half lead to four points with 2:45 left in the game, Georgia Tech was never in serious trouble.
``We just never got it to where Georgia Tech had to make a shot,'' Williams said.
Maryland (17-12) used a pressing defense and the superb inside play of forward Keith Booth, who had a game-high 33 points, to get back in the game in the second half.
But after Maryland got within four, Georgia Tech hit 7 of 8 free throws to win it. Matt Harpring, who had a team-high 24 points, was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line. Barry, who finished with 18 points and six assists, made all eight of his free throw attempts.
``We never make it easy on ourselves,'' Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins said. ``It's a strange feeling to play so well and have a lead, then all of a sudden it's a four-point game. At the same time, whenever we lose our lead, we somehow come up with a key basket.
``It's absolutely incredible what's going on. I wish I had the answer, but I don't.''
Cremins, as he's done a lot lately, shrugged his shoulders and talked about the grittiness of Harpring, the passing of Drew Barry, the big-play really ability of point guard Stephon Marbury, the outside shooting of forward Michael Maddox. He talked about how the team continues to impress him, and how much fun he's having coaching it.
It took Barry to snap Cremins out of his reverie.
``In the last two games, we've had 44 turnovers,'' Barry said. ``You can't win many games when you have turnovers in the 20s, or even the high teens. We're just finding ways to win.''
More often that anyone expected. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Georgia Tech's Drew Barry fights to keep a ball inbounds. His team
moved the ball around and shot 50 percent for the game.
by CNB